About Me

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

I want to begin this lecture by talking about Ninurta, sensationalism and historic facts.

The Nibiru collision is a supposed disastrous encounter between the Earth and a large planetary object (either a collision or a near-miss) which certain groups believe will take place in the early 21st century. Believers in this doomsday event usually refer to this object as Planet X or Nibiru. The idea that a planet-sized object could possibly collide with or pass by Earth in the near future is not supported by any scientific evidence and has been rejected as pseudoscience by astronomers and planetary scientists.The idea was first put forward in 1995 by Nancy Lieder, founder of the website ZetaTalk. Lieder describes herself as a contactee with the ability to receive messages from extra-terrestrials from the Zeta Reticuli star system through an implant in her brain. She states that she was chosen to warn mankind that the object would sweep through the inner Solar System in May 2003 (though that date was later abandoned) causing Earth to undergo a pole shift that would destroy most of humanity. The predicted collision has subsequently spread beyond Lieder's website and has been embraced by numerous Internet doomsday groups, most of which link the event to the 2012 phenomenon. Although the name "Nibiru" (the name of a Babylonian god) is derived from the works of late "ancient astronaut" writer Zecharia Sitchin and his interpretations of Babylonian and Sumerian mythology, Sitchin denied any connection between his work and various claims of a coming apocalypse. The idea of the Nibiru encounter originated with Nancy Lieder, a Wisconsin woman who claims that as a girl she was contacted by gray extraterrestrials called Zetas, who implanted a communications device in her brain. In 1995, she founded the website ZetaTalk to disseminate her ideas. Lieder first came to public attention on Internet newsgroups during the build-up to Comet Hale-Bopp's 1997 perihelion. She stated, speaking as the Zetas, that "The Hale-Bopp comet does not exist. It is a fraud, perpetrated by those who would have the teeming masses quiescent until it is too late. Hale-Bopp is nothing more than a distant star, and will draw no closer." She claimed that the Hale-Bopp story was manufactured to distract people from the imminent arrival of a large planetary object, "Planet X", which would soon pass by Earth and destroy civilization. After Hale-Bopp's perihelion revealed it as one of the brightest and longest-observed comets of the last century, Lieder removed the first two sentences of her initial statement from her site, though they can still be found in Google's archives. Although Lieder originally referred to the object as "Planet X", it has become deeply associated with Nibiru, a planet from the works of ancient astronaut proponent Zecharia Sitchin, particularly his book The 12th Planet. According to Sitchin's interpretation of Babylonian religious texts, which contravenes every conclusion reached by credited scholars on the subject, a giant planet (called Nibiru or Marduk) passes by Earth every 3,600 years and allows its sentient inhabitants to interact with humanity. These beings, which Sitchin identified with the Annunaki of Sumerian myth, would become humanity's first gods. Lieder first made the connection between Nibiru and her Planet X on her site in 1996 ("Planet X does exist, and it is the 12th Planet, one and the same.").However, Sitchin, who died in 2010, denied any connection between his work and Lieder's claims. In 2007, partly in response to Lieder's proclamations, Sitchin published a book, The End of Days, which set the time for the last passing of Nibiru by Earth at 556 BC, which would mean, given the object's supposed 3,600-year orbit, that it would return sometime around AD 2900. He did however say that he believed that the Annunaki might return earlier by spaceship, and that the timing of their return would coincide with the shift from the astrological Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius, sometime between 2090 and 2370.

The impact of the public fear of the Nibiru collision has been especially felt by professional astronomers. Mike Brown now says that Nibiru is the most common pseudoscientific topic he is asked about. David Morrison, director of SETI, CSI Fellow and Senior Scientist at NASA's Astrobiology Institute at Ames Research Center, says he receives 20 to 25 emails a week about the impending arrival of Nibiru; some frightened, others angry and naming him as part of the conspiracy to keep the truth of the impending apocalypse from the public, and still others asking whether or not they should kill themselves, their children or their pets. Half of these emails are from outside the U.S. "Planetary scientists are being driven to distraction by Nibiru," notes science writer Govert Schilling, "And it is not surprising; you devote so much time, energy and creativity to fascinating scientific research, and find yourself on the tracks of the most amazing and interesting things, and all the public at large is concerned about is some crackpot theory about clay tablets, god-astronauts and a planet that doesn't exist."

Who or what is Ninurta? Ninurta (Nin Ur: God of War) in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Lagash, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical. In older transliteration the name is rendered Ninib and Ninip, and in early commentary he was sometimes incorrectly portrayed as a solar deity. In Nippur, Ninurta was worshiped as part of a triad of deities including his father, Enlil and his mother, Ninlil. In variant mythology, his mother is said to be the harvest goddess Ninhursag. The consort of Ninurta was Ugallu in Nippur and Bau when he was called Ningirsu. Ninurta often appears holding a bow and arrow, a sickle sword, or a mace named Sharur: Sharur is capable of speech in the Sumerian legend "Deeds and Exploits of Ninurta" and can take the form of a winged lion and may represent an archetype for the later Shedu. In another legend, Ninurta battles a birdlike monster called Imdugud (Akkadian: Anzû); a Babylonian version relates how the monster Anzû steals the Tablets of Destiny from Enlil. The Tablets of Destiny were believed to contain the details of fate and the future. Ninurta slays each of the monsters later known as the "Slain Heroes" (the Warrior Dragon, the Palm Tree King, Lord Saman-ana, the Bison-beast, the Mermaid, the Seven-headed Snake, the Six-headed Wild Ram), and despoils them of valuable items such as Gypsum, Strong Copper, and the Magilum boat). Eventually, Anzû is killed by Ninurta who delivers the Tablet of Destiny to his father, Enlil.

The footage is clearly faked but I know many people who took this film to be a documentary and were frightened by it.

The movie has an incredibly terrifying premise. Hundreds of people have gone missing from the tiny, isolated town of Nome, Alaska since the 1960s. These missing persons cases have never been solved. But then a psychiatrist named Abigail Tyler starts investigating a rash of sleep disorders in Nome, and discovers that her patients are all having the same visions of white owls who interrupt their dreams. And when she hypnotizes one of her patients to find out more about this "owl," he is reduced to abject terror and then flees her office to kill his family and himself. Another patient, when hypnotized, starts screaming in ancient Sumerian and starts levitating.

Tyler undergoes hypnosis in an attempt to make contact with these beings and reunite with her daughter. Campos and Odusami videotape the session, and once hypnotized, it is revealed that Tyler witnessed the abduction of her daughter and also shows scenes of her own abduction, showing part of the abductors ship and it is hinted that they possibly took some human egg cells from Abbey as well. the camera scrambles, and Abbey begs to the alien that abducted Ashley to return her, the creature replies, saying that its own child was never returned to it and then calls its self the savoir, then the father and finally ends with "I am...God". when the encounter ends Campos and Odusami rush over to the now unconscious Abbey and then they notice something out of camera's view, the camera scrambles again, and a volatile voice yells "Zimabu Eter!" which supposedly translates to "Spirit from whom you cannot be saved" in English. When the camera unscrambles it shows that all three of them are gone.

Finally, there's a whole "chariot of the gods" idea that's sort of flung into the story as if we weren't already up to our eyeballs in disbelief we couldn't suspend even if we wanted to. The aliens speak in ancient Sumerian, which a professor is inexplicably able to understand, despite the fact that the only access to Sumerian he has are from ancient texts. Nobody knows how the language would have been pronounced. Still, he figures out that the aliens are yelling things like "I am god," and using the word "destroyed" a lot. We also don't understand why they're still speaking an ancient language - you'd think by now they would try speaking English since they've been abducting Alaskans since before Sarah Palin was born.

So why are the aliens depicted in the movie speaking Sumerian-and why is the fake planet X called Ninurta-after a Babylonian god?

The reason is to give it some credibility or to make it seem plausible and to exploit the general lack of knowledge among the public about ancient Mesopotamia.

Even in Evangelical circles, fraudulent information about Babylonia is often put out. (I call this false information the Hislop Cult or the Two Babylons Cult-which I will examine later.)

I believe that this fraudulent information is very damaging and it is important for us to have accurate information about ancient Babylon-partly to help us to understand the story of the Bible better.

General information about the Background of Babylonia

The ancient inhabitants in Babylonia were the Sumerians. So the region is called ancient Sumer. Apparently, there was a group settled there even earlier than the Sumerians-because there are some words in Sumerian which are derived from an even earlier language.

The Sumerian language is a language isolate. This means that there are no languages known to be related to it. This makes it similar to Basque, which also has no known related language, but also makes it mysterious and alien, which is why it is used as an alien language in "the Fourth Kind." However, in our age there are dominate language groups-such as Semitic languages, Indo-European languages, and Bantu languages. In ancient times there were many "language isolates" that have vanished. Sumerian is also the most ancient written language.

Later, the Akkadians conquered the Sumerians and after centuries eventually assimilated. The Akkadians did use Sumerian as a type of official or sacred language (classical and liturgical language), similar to how Latin was used in the Middle Ages and how Hebrew has been used by the Jewish people.

The mythologies of the Sumerians and the Akkadians became related in a similar way that Greek and Roman Mythology is related. (There are some differences between Greek and Roman Mythology-but most often, the Romans adopted the Greek gods and gave them Roman names-Zeus became Jupiter, Hermes became Mercury, Hera became Juno, and ect.)

Akkadian was the language spoken by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Assyrians and Babylonians were distinct peoples-although they spoke the same language. For instance, the Scots and the English both speak the English language, but are distinct peoples, although they live very close to each other.

Akkadian is a Semitic language. This means that it is closely related to Hebrew. In fact, Akkadian is the earliest attested Semitic language. Akkadian is an extinct language.

By investigating Semitic languages, comparing and contrasting the living Semitic languages (Arabic, Aramaic, Maltese, Socroti, ect.) we can trace the origins and development of the Semitic languages.

All Semitic languages, including Hebrew, evolved out of an extinct pre-historic language called Proto-Semitic.

The scientific study of ancient Mesopotamia is called Assyriology because Assyria was the first of the ancient Mesopotamian cities to be scientifically excavated.

Now, I want to mention that, in 2003-when I was serving with the military in Iraq, I was able to go to the ruins of ancient Babylon.

The Assyrians were able to establish a great empire with their powerful and advanced military. Unfortunately for the Assyrians, due to their conquests, they made a number of enemies and finally Assyria, and it's capital city of Nineveh, was destroyed by the Babylonians. Then the Babylonian Empire can to power. Babylon was conquered by the Persians and in turn the Persians were conquered by Alexander the Greats Hellenistic (or Greek) Empire. Late in the Greek period, Babylon (a city that Alexander had used as a capital and where he had died) fell into decline and was eventually abandoned. It became a heap of ruins that the Muslims often quarried for building supplies.

Historians believe that Human Civilization (which refers to humans living in cities) began in Mesopotamia-which is attested in the Bible in the Tower of Babel story.

Mesopotamia and the Bible

1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. Eden was in Iraq -- Genesis 2:10-14. (There are different theories concerning the location of the Garden of Eden, the most plausible is southern Iraq-but the region southern Turkey/northern Iraq is also a likely location.)

2. Mesopotamia which is now Iraq was the cradle of civilization! Adam & Eve were created in Iraq -- Genesis 2:7-8.

3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. Nimrod established Babylon & theTower of Babel was built in Iraq -- Genesis 10:8-97 & 11:1-4. The confusion of the languages took place in Iraq -- Genesis 11:5-11.

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! Abraham came from a city in Iraq -- Genesis 11:31 & Acts 7:2-4.

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor which is in Iraq. Isaac's bride came from Iraq -- Genesis 24:3-4 &10.

9. Assyria which is in Iraq conquered the ten tribes of Israel. (This is the story of the "Ten Lost Tribes." It is likely that the Ten Lost Tribes were assimilated into the Assyrians. The Samaritans also claim to be descended from the Ten northern Tribes of Israel. They claim to be Ephraimites and Levites.)

10. The Book of Nahum is written about the fall of Assyria

11. Babylon which is in Iraq destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple-fulfilling the prophecies of Jeremiah.

12. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.

13. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.

14. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq! The Book of Daniel is also set in Iraq

15. The 3 Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (that's good news to know that JESUS has been in Iraq too as the 4th person in the fiery furnace!).

16. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.

17. Nehemiah and Ezra were Persian dignitaries and part of these books are set in Iran and Iraq.

18. The book of Esther is set in Iraq and Iran

19. The wise men were from Iraq. (From the Gospel of Matthew)

20. Peter may have preached in Iraq. (But it is uncertain what "Babylon" Peter preached at-it may have been Babylon in Iraq, or the Fortress of Babylon in Egypt, or perhaps Peter uses "Babylon" as a euphemism for Rome.)

Now we have seen the pivotal role that ancient Mesopotamia plays in the Bible story. That being so-why is there so much gross ignorance of Babylonia among Christians?

The book or Revelation has prophecies against Babylon, which was the old name for the nation of Iraq -- Revelation 17 &18. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq.

(Some misunderstandings about Babylonia are due to people taking prophetic typology regarding Babylon and using that typology to interpret history.)

Another problem is that Babylon has not been able to capture the imagination of the public the way that Egypt has. In the 1920s, Sir Wooley excavated "Ur of the Chaldees" and there was much excitement regarding his excavating of the "City of Abraham." However, his discoveries were soon eclipsed among the public by Howard Carter's excavations of King Tutankhamen's tomb.

Hollywood continued to capture the imagination of the public with ancient Egypt with Mummy movies. Mesopotamia is referred to in "True Lies" and "Ghostbusters." In the silent era, there was a movie that featured Babylonia that was entitled "Intolerance." These are rare exceptions to the Hollywood blackout of ancient Mesopotamia. (The Scorpion King is said to be an "Akkadian" in the film-but the filmmakers have no interest in imparting anything historical in that movie.) So, ancient Babylon and Assyria hasn't made much of a pop cultural impact the way Egypt had.

Babylonian Religion

In times past, there was a lot of conjectural information about ancient Babylonia, mostly because at the time, we didn't have hard evidence to go on. (Unfortunately, most of these conjectures have been shown to be false by hard archeological evidence-but inaccurate information is still out there-and there are people who tirelessly put out so-called "facts" that have been shown to be fraudulent.)

IT IS A TRAVESTY TO HAVE ALL THIS NINURTA, 4TH KIND, TWO BABYLONS NON-SENSE OUT THERE WHEN WE NOW HAVE HARD FACTS.

The problem is that it seems that the general public is more interested in sensational claims that historical truth. People are more curious and interested in non-sense than in the facts. But the fraudulent information is VERY harmful-as we will see below when we examine the Two Babylons cult.

In the late 1800s, the CUNIFORM script was deciphered and now we have direct information from the Babylonians about what their religious beliefs were.

Babylonian Gods:

Asshur: (Actually, an Assyrian god). As the deified city Assur (pronounced Ashur), which dates from the 3rd millennium BC and was the capital of the Old Assyriankingdom. As such, Ashur did not originally have a family, but as the cult came under southern Mesopotamian influence he came to be regarded as the Assyrian equivalent of Enlil, the chief god of Nippur and one of the most important gods of the southern pantheon, and in time Ashur absorbed Enlil's wife Ninlil (as the Assyrian goddess Mullissu) and his sons Ninurta and Zababa - this process began around in the 13th century BC E and continued down to the 8th and 7th centuries.The Assyrians did not require conquered peoples to take up the worship of Ashur; instead, Assyrian imperial propaganda declared that the conquered peoples had been abandoned by their gods. When Assyria conquered Babylon in the Sargonid period (8th-7th centuries BCE), Assyrian scribes began to write the name of Ashur with the cuneiform signs AN.SHAR, literally "whole heaven" in Akkadian, the language of Assyria and Babylonia. The intention seems to have been to put Ashur at the head of the Babylonian pantheon, where Anshar and his counterpart Kishar ("whole earth") preceded even Enlil and Ninlil. Thus in the Sargonid version of the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian national creation myth, Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, does not appear, and instead it is Ashur, as Anshar, who slays Tiamat the chaos-monster and creates the world of mankind. Some scholars have claimed that Ashur was represented as the solar disc that appears frequently in Assyrian iconography, but evidence indicates that this is in fact the sun god Shamash. Many Assyrian kings had names that included the name Ashur, including, above all, Ashur-nasirpal, Esar-haddon (Ashur-aha-iddina), and Ashur-banipal. Epithets include bêlu rabû "great lord", ab ilâni "father of gods", šadû rabû "great mountain", and il aššurî "god of Ashur". The symbols of Ashur include:a winged disc with horns, enclosing four circles revolving round a middle circle; rippling rays fall down from either side of the disc; a circle or wheel, suspended from wings, and enclosing a warrior drawing his bow to discharge an arrow; the same circle; the warrior's bow, however, is carried in his left hand, while the right hand is uplifted as if to bless his worshipers

Bel and Nebo: Bel is Marduk and Nebo (cognate with Hebrew word "Nabi" meaning "prophet" is his son, the god of wisdom. Isaiah 46:1, "The god Bel bows down; the god Nebo stoops low. Their statues are seated on animals and cattle. The gods that you carry are burdens, a load for weary people." Nebo-is found in the name of the famous king Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebo-chadnezzer). Abed-nego means servant of Nebo.

Marduk: was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BCE), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BCE. The golden statue that Shadrech, Meshek, and Abed-nego refused to worship was a statue of Marduk (or perhaps Nebo). Mordecai, of the book of Esther, has a name that means servant of Marduk.

Nergal: An underworld deity mentioned in the Bible at 2 Kings 17:30.

Anu: The sky-god, father of the gods and chief Babylonian deity. His name means "Heaven."

Enlil: One of the most important gods of Mesopotamia, Enlil was second in authority only to Anu. He ruled over earth and bestowed kingship upon leaders of men. He was the keeper of the "Tablets of Destiny."

Enki (also called Ea): God of the waters and of the mystic arts. He saved mankind from the Great Flood.

Addad: Storm-god, same as Haddad/Baal in Canaanite mythology. His sacred animal was the bull.

Amurru: God of the Amorites-that was worshiped in Mesopotamia.

Ereshkigal: Goddess and ruler of the Netherworld. Wife of Nergel.

Ninurta: Originally an agricultural god-later became a god of war.

Sin (also called Nanna): The moon-god. The father of the sun-god and the goddess of love. The judge of the dead.

Shammash: The sun-god and the god of Justice.

Ishtar: Goddess of love. Wife of Tammuz.

Tammuz (called "Damuzi"): Shepherd-god.

Geshtinanna: Goddess of the vineyards and sister of Damuzi.

Babylonian Religious Practices:

Babylonians had an important new year celebration that was also an atonement service-in fact it was described Kappara-related to the Hebrew word Kippur. (The name of the festival was Akitu.) The king repented on behalf of the people and was slapped by the high priest so hard that it drew tears. This was a 12 day festival in March. The worship centered around Marduk.

The idols were brought into the temples in a processional festival.

Much like in the Jewish Temple, animals, lambs and bulls, were sacrificed and burnt offering were made. Ritual sex may have been practiced by the Babylonians on occasions-but this is speculative.

Important temples were towers called Ziggerats.

Important Babylonian Myths/Literature

The Law-code of Hammurabi: A law code similar in some ways to the law of Moses. Shamash, the god of Justice, gave these commandments, which were inscribed upon a stone tablet to King Hammurabi.

The Epic of Gilgamesh: This story of King Gilgamesh contains a version of the story of the Flood of Noah-and a story about how man was denied access to the fruit of the Tree of Life due to the mechanations of a serpent.

The Story of Ishtar and Tammuz: Ishtar marries the Shepherd King, Tammuz. Later, she decides to enter into Hell, and there she is held captive by Ereshkigal, the Queen of Hell. She escapes from hell, but trades her place with Tammuz. Tammuz's sister Geshtinanna, makes a deal with Ereshkigal that she will spend six months out of every year in hell, so that Tammuz can be free during that time.

Christians cite these books and also stress concern about Apocrypha-however-there is one apocryphal tale that many Protestants and Evangelicals have added to the status of scripture-and it does like this.

The story goes like this: After the flood of Noah, people settled in Babylonia. There Nimrod became king. He married his mother Semiramis. He taught the people to worship idols. Shem, Noah's son, killed Nimrod and scattered his body parts in different cities as a warning to them, lest they follow Nimrod's sinful ways. But then, Semiramis gave birth to Nimrod's posthumous son and named him Tammuz and said that he was Nimrod reincarnated and that he was the sun-god. Then Semiramis had everyone worship the trinity of Nimrod, Semiramis and Tammuz and established the mother-goddess cult. She also taught that her sons and her husband were god-kings. All religions are derived from this Babylonian religion and Roman Catholicism is actually Nimrod worship, but given a Christian veneer.

There are many problems with this. First, this story isn't in the Bible. If it really happened why isn't it in the Bible? Also, this story as we have just seen doesn't match what we know about Babylonian religion.

Also, who is this Semiramis character? She isn't mentioned in the Bible.

Scholars believe that Semiramis was Sammuramat ruled 823-811 BC and was the wife of Shamshi-Adad V and mother of Adad-nirari III.

The Greeks heard about her and invented vulgar stories about her being the founder of Babylonia.

These lewd stories offended the Babylonians and a Babylonian named Berossus. Berossus published the Babyloniaca (hereafter, History of Babylonia) in three books some time around 290-278 BC, by the patronage of the Greek King Antiochus I. He establishes the fact that Babylon was built by King Nebuchadnesser and not by Semiramis-who was a queen of Assyria and not Babylonia. Berossus was quoted in Josephus and his writings seem to be accurate.

Another issue is that Babylonian kings were not viewed as gods. Naram-Sin, who reigned ca. 2254–2218 BC, was the first Mesopotamian king known to have claimed divinity for himself and his divine presumptions seemed to have created a backlash. Also, note how that during the Akitu festival, the king would humiliate himself before the gods and allow himself to be publically slapped by the high priest. Naram-Sin's dynasty soon collapsed after his rule.

Jewish stories (the Midrash) do not match the Nimrod-Semiramis-Tammuz tale either. In Midrash, Nimrod is a mighty hunter because he inherited the clothes that God made for Adam and Eve and these had magical properties. In Jewish Lore, Shem doesn't kill Nimrod. Shem is identified with Melkizedek. Nimrod persecutes Abraham in Jewish tradition. There are many different contradictory legends about Nimrod. Often he is portrayed as a tyrant. In some legends, he repents. In a few he is a righteous king. The Bible doesn't state is Nimrod was good or evil, it only states that he was a "mighty hunter before Yahweh" and that he ruled as a "mighty one."

The Nimrod-Semiramis-Tammuz story is not attested in any ancient historical writing, such as Josephus, nor is it found in any apocryphal or pseudopigraphal writings-so the question is-where did it come from?

It first appears in 1859 in the writings of a cult-leader named Alexander Hislop. Where did Alexander Hislop get the story? Basically, he just made it up. It is a product of his imagination.

He took the myths of Semiramis from a discredited ancient Greek writer-who was a rabid anti-Semite- named Diodorus Siculus (or Diodorus of Sicily). He wrote his works of myths and legends that were mistaken for history between 60 and 30 BC. He has Semiramis marry a king named Ninus-who she had put to death so that she could rule. Hislop thought that Ninus was Nimrod.

What Hislop did was take the myth of Semiramis and mix it with the story of the Egyptian god Osiris (indentifying Shem with Seth) and also mixing it with the story of the Levites concubine from 19 and coming up with a completely new story that was a product of his imagination.

No Assyriologist takes Hislop's work as having any historical value. He didn't know anything about ancient Babylonia-and he wrote before cuniform had been deciphered and before many important discoveries were made. This means Hislop's writings are out-dated, discredited, and have no credibility and are fraudulent. All the archeological evident from 1859 until today totally discredits "The Two Babylons."

Some Christians have given Hislop's "The Two Babylons" an almost Scriptural status. And unfortunately the book is still in print.

But why? Why would Christians promote a book that has been proven to be untrue? Because the facts don't matter-it is an excuse to be devisive and hateful.

Because, there is a general ignorance about Babylonia-and people are able to exploit that ignorance to attack Roman Catholicism and Christianity in general.

Soon after it was written, the book was shown by leaders of the church-that if what Hislop was saying was true-and it isn't-it wasn't just Roman Catholicism that is "pagan"-but the whole of the New Testament.

(In the early Church period, Clementine literature did identify Ninus from the Semiramis story with Nimrod. However, the scenario of Shem dismembering Nimrod and Semiramis giving birth to Tammuz the sun-god, are innovations of Hislop. "The Two Bablyons" contentions are not supported by historical or archeological evidence.)

Much of the attacks on Christianity in the Da Vinci Code were ultimately derived from Hislop's "Two Babylons."

I have been viciously attacked because I agree with the historical and archeological evidence that had disproven "The Two Babylons." The "Two Babylons" is rubbish-the same as "Planet Ninurta" and "The Fourth Kind." The Two Babylons is fraudulent and cultic literature. Many people are deeply committed to perpetuating and spreading this falsehood.

The problem is that the facts about Babylonia have not been made accessible to the general public-who are quick to pick up on bogus conspiracy theories-which are much easier to learn about.

Babylon's Enduring Legacy

Revelations 11:8, "And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified."

What city is that? This is how the Book of Revelation describes Jerusalem, but this isn't how most Christians think of Jerusalem. In popular imagination, Babylon is THE sinful city.

H.W.F. Saggs wrote, "The most important cereals in much of the Western world are wheat for bread and barley as the basis of beer; this is because their wild ancestors grew in the Near East, where they were cultivated in prehistoric times, and then transmitted to the rest of the world through Babylonia. Similiarily, our predominant meats are mutton, beef and pork because, despite the abundance of possible meat animals, the sheep, cow and pig were three of the four principle animals domesticated for food in the prehistoric Near East and taken over in Babylonia (the fourth was the goat, which has largely gone off the menu in recent centuries). [Except among the Mexicans who eat goat meat like nobody's business.]

Technological survivals include the plough and the potter's wheel, and possibly the wheel used for transport, which have come down to us from earliest Babylonia. The concept of writing is another vital survival, even though the original technique, cuneiform on clay fell into disuse two thousand years ago. . Ancient Babylonia gave us the place-value notation system fro writing of numerals…we still count in sixties for some purposes, such as geometry (360 degrees in a circle) and time) division of hours into minutes and minutes into seconds), and this system originated in third-millennium Babylonia…The twenty-four hour day, although not wholly of Babylonian origin, combines Babylonian and Egyptian elements. Astronomy, and even the names of some constellations, have their origin in Babylonian observations of stars and planets…[The Lunar calendar, used by Judaism and Islam, and even forms the basis of the Christian calendar is based on that used by the Babylonians. Some scholars believe that the seven day week is of Babylonian origin.] …Thus, although our modern life is separated from Babylonia by more than two thousand years, we remain linked by many fine strands of traditions…without which our world would be a very different place indeed."

There is a book entitled the "5,000 Year Leap" about how America has accomplished more for mankind in 200 years, than mankind has accomplished in 5,000 years. I think that there have been 5,000 year leaps before. The first occurred in the Ancient Near East, the second occurred in the Greco-Roman Era, and the most recent began with the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation.

In conclusion, we see that many of the contributions of ancient Babylonia are not pagan, sinful or "demonic," they are human and have benefited mankind.

David P. Goldman has written about Islamic population decline in "How Civilizations die: and why Islam is dying too" this book was reviewed by Clair Berlinski in National Review. Berlinski was incredulous but then did the research and says, "The Islamic world, too, is on the fast track to demographic senility. To my surprise, it seems he is quite right: All the studies confirm it. Muslim-majority countries are now exhibiting significantly lower fertility levels than non-Muslim ones." She can't understand exactly how Muslim women are managing to avoid pregnancy.

Basically, Muslims are being forced to post-pone marriage mostly for economic reasons until they are almost thirty or even forty years old. So, due to this fact, they are missing out on prime child-bearing years. This means that they are having no children or only one.

Islamists for Secretary of Defense and CIA director

Obama has appointed two Jihadists and anti-Semites to important government positions. These villains are Chuck Hagel and John Brennan. (The following is by Pam Gellar) Could you imagine an even more dangerous pick than Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense? Under Obama, yes. Worse is always what's next. President Barack Obama said Monday that he would nominate former Nebraska Sen. Hagel, a Republican, to be secretary of defense, and his top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Astonishing. Obama is doing the full monty. The president's CIA pick has called jihad a "legitimate tenet of Islam," arguing that the term "jihadists" should not be used to describe America's enemies. During a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, John Brennan described violent extremists as victims of "political, economic and social forces," but said that those plotting attacks on the United States should not be described in "religious terms." Brennan speechifies in Arabic and has equated Muslim terrorists with shoplifters. Lawmakers have called for his firing. Readers of my website AtlasShrugs.com are long familiar with the pro-jihadi thug Brennan. If you recall, during the 2008 presidential election, I ran a number of stories on the breach of Obama's passport at the Department of State. It bears noting that Brennan – whom Obama first appointed to be assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, in which capacity he made his notorious and incredible pro-terror remarks, some in Arabic no less, about the beauty of jihad – was connected with the tampering with Obama's passport. He led the investigation into the breach of Obama's passport records – the mysterious passport Obama traveled to Pakistan on in 1981. Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/pro-jihadist-john-brennan-to-head-cia/#5LMyociCXrAccj39.99

Another Iranian pastor in prison

Heb 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. Christians need to hold this brother up in prayer. Show mercy by praying for him. The Lord will repay you with mercy also, and maybe when you need help and strength in time of trouble, the Lord will move people to pray for you. Jesus commanded that we are to love one another, even as He loved us. He also commanded us to share in the sufferings of all the members of His Body: "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it..."(1 Corinthians 12:26). Also St Paul commands (more than once) "Join me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God." (2 Tim 1:8).

(CNSNews.com) – Imprisoned American pastor Saeed Abedini wrote of what he called "horrific" and "unbearable" conditions in the Iranian prison where he is held after being convicted in January for being a Christian. "They are trying to put me under such horrific pressures (that are sometimes unbearable) so that they can show me that my faith is empty and not real," Saeed wrote in a letter obtained by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). Saeed wrote that his Iranian jailors subjected him to "psychological warfare" and that one of his guards had "attacked me" while he was singing worship songs in his cell. He also wrote that "my body does not have the strength to walk" due to the conditions of his imprisonment. Saeed is in Iran's Evin prison, sentenced there by Iranian Judge Pir-Abassi, whom ACLJ says is known as the "hanging judge, serving an eight-year term for threatening the national security of Iran by leading Christian services in Iranian households. Saeed and his Iranian lawyers were allowed to attend only one day of his trial, according to the ACLJ, which represents his wife and children still in the United States. This is the first letter the 32-yeard-old Saeed has written since his imprisonment began in January. The pastor writes of enduring "physical violence, actions committed to humiliate me, insults," and "being confronted [by] extremists in the prison who create another prison within the prison walls, and death threats." His wife, Naghmeh, said in a statement released by the ACLJ: "The most important thing we can do is pray, continue to raise awareness of his case and continue to work for his freedom." Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, said in a press release accompanying the letter that the account of Pastor Saeed underscores the need for the U.S. government to do "all that can be done" to secure his freedom. "The letter also underscores the need to move quickly. A U.S. citizen is in failing health from beatings and abuse – a menacing scenario that should command the full attention and engagement of the U.S. government. It's our hope that Secretary Kerry will act without delay – doing all that can be done by the State Department to save this U.S. citizen." The ACLJ told CNSNews.com that the letter was released to family in Iran and was then sent to Saeed's wife, who provided a typed copy of the missive to the ACLJ.

There are also reports of him having nails driven through his palms and his feet. I'm sure the government will leave him out to dry. Obama, Kerry and the left wing media are more worried about Sandra Fluke getting her birth control paid for by our tax dollars than the release of a Christian by Iranian Muslims.

Babylon Religion Revealed!

There is a lot of pseudo-science that uses ancient Babylonian terminology-such as the planet Ninurta-which is going to collide with earth any day now and the alien language in "the Fourth Kind" being Sumerian. The reason is to give it some credibility or to make it seem plausible and to exploit the general lack of knowledge among the public about ancient Mesopotamia. Even in Evangelical circles, fraudulent information about Babylonia is often put out. (I call this false information the Hislop Cult or the Two Babylons Cult-which I will examine later.) I believe that this fraudulent information is very damaging and it is important for us to have accurate information about ancient Babylon-partly to help us to understand the story of the Bible better.

General information about the Background of Babylonia The ancient inhabitants in Babylonia were the Sumerians. So the region is called ancient Sumer. Apparently, there was a group settled there even earlier than the Sumerians-because there are some words in Sumerian which are derived from an even earlier language. The Sumerian language is a language isolate. This means that there are no languages known to be related to it. This makes it similar to Basque, which also has no known related language, but also makes it mysterious and alien, which is why it is used as an alien language in "the Fourth Kind." However, in our age there are dominate language groups-such as Semitic languages, Indo-European languages, and Bantu languages. In ancient times there were many "language isolates" that have vanished. Sumerian is also the most ancient written language. Later, the Akkadians conquered the Sumerians and after centuries eventually assimilated. The Akkadians did use Sumerian as a type of official or sacred language (classical and liturgical language), similar to how Latin was used in the Middle Ages and how Hebrew has been used by the Jewish people.

The mythologies of the Sumerians and the Akkadians became related in a similar way that Greek and Roman Mythology is related. (There are some differences between Greek and Roman Mythology-but most often, the Romans adopted the Greek gods and gave them Roman names-Zeus became Jupiter, Hermes became Mercury, Hera became Juno, and ect.)

Akkadian was the language spoken by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Assyrians and Babylonians were distinct peoples-although they spoke the same language. For instance, the Scots and the English both speak the English language, but are distinct peoples, although they live very close to each other.

Akkadian is a Semitic language. This means that it is closely related to Hebrew. In fact, Akkadian is the earliest attested Semitic language. Akkadian is an extinct language. By investigating Semitic languages, comparing and contrasting the living Semitic languages (Arabic, Aramaic, Maltese, Socroti, ect.) we can trace the origins and development of the Semitic languages. All Semitic languages, including Hebrew, evolved out of an extinct pre-historic language called Proto-Semitic. The scientific study of ancient Mesopotamia is called Assyriology because Assyria was the first of the ancient Mesopotamian cities to be scientifically excavated. Now, I want to mention that, in 2003-when I was serving with the military in Iraq, I was able to go to the ruins of ancient Babylon. The Assyrians were able to establish a great empire with their powerful and advanced military. Unfortunately for the Assyrians, due to their conquests, they made a number of enemies and finally Assyria, and it's capital city of Nineveh, was destroyed by the Babylonians. Then the Babylonian Empire can to power. Babylon was conquered by the Persians and in turn the Persians were conquered by Alexander the Greats Hellenistic (or Greek) Empire. Late in the Greek period, Babylon (a city that Alexander had used as a capital and where he had died) fell into decline and was eventually abandoned. It became a heap of ruins that the Muslims often quarried for building supplies. Historians believe that Human Civilization (which refers to humans living in cities) began in Mesopotamia-which is attested in the Bible in the Tower of Babel story.

Mesopotamia and the Bible

1. The garden of Eden was in Iraq. Eden was in Iraq -- Genesis 2:10-14. (There are different theories concerning the location of the Garden of Eden, the most plausible is southern Iraq-but the region southern Turkey/northern Iraq is also a likely location.)

2. Mesopotamia which is now Iraq was the cradle of civilization! Adam & Eve were created in Iraq -- Genesis 2:7-8.

3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.

4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq. Nimrod established Babylon & theTower of Babel was built in Iraq -- Genesis 10:8-97 & 11:1-4. The confusion of the languages took place in Iraq -- Genesis 11:5-11.

5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq! Abraham came from a city in Iraq -- Genesis 11:31 & Acts 7:2-4.

6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor which is in Iraq. Isaac's bride came from Iraq -- Genesis 24:3-4 &10.

9. Assyria which is in Iraq conquered the ten tribes of Israel. (This is the story of the "Ten Lost Tribes." It is likely that the Ten Lost Tribes were assimilated into the Assyrians. The Samaritans also claim to be descended from the Ten northern Tribes of Israel. They claim to be Ephraimites and Levites.)

10. The Book of Nahum is written about the fall of Assyria

11. Babylon which is in Iraq destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple-fulfilling the prophecies of Jeremiah.

12. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.

13. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.

14. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq! The Book of Daniel is also set in Iraq

15. The 3 Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq (that's good news to know that JESUS has been in Iraq too as the 4th person in the fiery furnace!).

16. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.

17. Nehemiah and Ezra were Persian dignitaries and part of these books are set in Iran and Iraq.

18. The book of Esther is set in Iraq and Iran

19. The wise men were from Iraq. (From the Gospel of Matthew)

20. Peter may have preached in Iraq. (But it is uncertain what "Babylon" Peter preached at-it may have been Babylon in Iraq, or the Fortress of Babylon in Egypt, or perhaps Peter uses "Babylon" as a euphemism for Rome.)

Now we have seen the pivotal role that ancient Mesopotamia plays in the Bible story. That being so-why is there so much gross ignorance of Babylonia among Christians?

The book or Revelation has prophecies against Babylon, which was the old name for the nation of Iraq -- Revelation 17 &18. No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq. (Some misunderstandings about Babylonia are due to people taking prophetic typology regarding Babylon and using that typology to interpret history.) Another problem is that Babylon has not been able to capture the imagination of the public the way that Egypt has. In the 1920s, Sir Wooley excavated "Ur of the Chaldees" and there was much excitement regarding his excavating of the "City of Abraham." However, his discoveries were soon eclipsed among the public by Howard Carter's excavations of King Tutankhamen's tomb. Hollywood continued to capture the imagination of the public with ancient Egypt with Mummy movies. Mesopotamia is referred to in "True Lies" and "Ghostbusters." In the silent era, there was a movie that featured Babylonia that was entitled "Intolerance." These are rare exceptions to the Hollywood blackout of ancient Mesopotamia. (The Scorpion King is said to be an "Akkadian" in the film-but the filmmakers have no interest in imparting anything historical in that movie.) So, ancient Babylon and Assyria hasn't made much of a pop cultural impact the way Egypt had.

Babylonian Religion

In times past, there was a lot of conjectural information about ancient Babylonia, mostly because at the time, we didn't have hard evidence to go on. (Unfortunately, most of these conjectures have been shown to be false by hard archeological evidence-but inaccurate information is still out there-and there are people who tirelessly put out so-called "facts" that have been shown to be fraudulent.)

IT IS A TRAVESTY TO HAVE ALL THIS NINURTA, 4TH KIND, TWO BABYLONS NON-SENSE OUT THERE WHEN WE NOW HAVE HARD FACTS.

The problem is that it seems that the general public is more interested in sensational claims that historical truth. People are more curious and interested in non-sense than in the facts. But the fraudulent information is VERY harmful-as we will see below when we examine the Two Babylons cult.

In the late 1800s, the CUNIFORM script was deciphered and now we have direct information from the Babylonians about what their religious beliefs were.

Babylonian Gods:

Asshur: (Actually, an Assyrian god). As the deified city Assur (pronounced Ashur), which dates from the 3rd millennium BC and was the capital of the Old Assyriankingdom. As such, Ashur did not originally have a family, but as the cult came under southern Mesopotamian influence he came to be regarded as the Assyrian equivalent of Enlil, the chief god of Nippur and one of the most important gods of the southern pantheon, and in time Ashur absorbed Enlil's wife Ninlil (as the Assyrian goddess Mullissu) and his sons Ninurta and Zababa - this process began around in the 13th century BC E and continued down to the 8th and 7th centuries.The Assyrians did not require conquered peoples to take up the worship of Ashur; instead, Assyrian imperial propaganda declared that the conquered peoples had been abandoned by their gods. When Assyria conquered Babylon in the Sargonid period (8th-7th centuries BCE), Assyrian scribes began to write the name of Ashur with the cuneiform signs AN.SHAR, literally "whole heaven" in Akkadian, the language of Assyria and Babylonia. The intention seems to have been to put Ashur at the head of the Babylonian pantheon, where Anshar and his counterpart Kishar ("whole earth") preceded even Enlil and Ninlil. Thus in the Sargonid version of the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian national creation myth, Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, does not appear, and instead it is Ashur, as Anshar, who slays Tiamat the chaos-monster and creates the world of mankind. Some scholars have claimed that Ashur was represented as the solar disc that appears frequently in Assyrian iconography, but evidence indicates that this is in fact the sun god Shamash. Many Assyrian kings had names that included the name Ashur, including, above all, Ashur-nasirpal, Esar-haddon (Ashur-aha-iddina), and Ashur-banipal. Epithets include bêlu rabû "great lord", ab ilâni "father of gods", šadû rabû "great mountain", and il aššurî "god of Ashur". The symbols of Ashur include:a winged disc with horns, enclosing four circles revolving round a middle circle; rippling rays fall down from either side of the disc; a circle or wheel, suspended from wings, and enclosing a warrior drawing his bow to discharge an arrow; the same circle; the warrior's bow, however, is carried in his left hand, while the right hand is uplifted as if to bless his worshipers

Bel and Nebo: Bel is Marduk and Nebo (cognate with Hebrew word "Nabi" meaning "prophet" is his son, the god of wisdom. Isaiah 46:1, "The god Bel bows down; the god Nebo stoops low. Their statues are seated on animals and cattle. The gods that you carry are burdens, a load for weary people." Nebo-is found in the name of the famous king Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebo-chadnezzer). Abed-nego means servant of Nebo.

Marduk: was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BCE), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BCE. The golden statue that Shadrech, Meshek, and Abed-nego refused to worship was a statue of Marduk (or perhaps Nebo). Mordecai, of the book of Esther, has a name that means servant of Marduk.

There is a statue of prophet Mani as the "Buddha of Light" in Cao'an Temple in Jinjiang, Fujian, "a Manichean temple in Buddhist disguise", which is considered "the only extant Manichean temple in China." (from "Encyclopedia Iranica")

Manichaeism and Aramaic

Manichaeism was a major Gnostic religion, originating in Sassanid era Babylonia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manichaeus or Manes) (c. AD 216–276) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came. Its beliefs were based on local Mesopotamian Gnostic and religious movements. Manichaeism was quickly successful and spread far through the Aramaic-Syriac speaking regions. It thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical paganism. Manichaeism survived longer in the East than in the West, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China, contemporary to the decline in China of the Church of the East – see Ming Dynasty. Mani, an Arsacid Iranian by birth, was born AD 216 in Mesopotamia (Iraq), which was ruled by Persia, then within the Sassanid Empire province of Asuristan. According to the Cologne Mani-Codex, Mani's parents were members of the religious sect of Elcesaites. The king of Persia put him to death in 274 or 277. Mani believed that the teachings of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus were incomplete, and that his revelations were for the entire world, calling his teachings the "Religion of Light." Manichaean writings indicate that Mani received revelations when he was 12 and again when he was 24, and over this time period he grew dissatisfied with the Elchasaite sect he was born into. Mani began preaching at an early age and was possibly influenced by contemporary Babylonian-Aramaic movements such as Mandaeanism, and Aramaic translations of Jewish apocalyptic writings similar to those found at Qumran (such as the book of Enoch literature). With the discovery of the Mani-Codex, it also became clear that he was raised in a Jewish-Christian baptism sect, the Elcesaites, and was influenced by their writings as well. According to biographies preserved by Ibn al-Nadim and the Persian polymath al-Biruni, he allegedly received a revelation as a youth from a spirit, whom he would later call his Twin (Aramaic Tauma (תאומא), from which is also derived the name of the apostle Thomas, the "twin"), his Syzygos (Greek for "partner", in the Cologne Mani-Codex), his Double, his Protective Angel or Divine Self. It taught him truths which he developed into a religion. His divine Twin or true Self brought Mani to Self-realization and thus he became a gnosticus, someone with divine knowledge and liberating insight. He claimed to be the Paraclete of the Truth, as promised in the New Testament.Mani composed seven writings, six of which were written in Syriac Aramaic. The seventh, the Shabuhragan, was written by Mani in Middle Persian and presented by him to the contemporary King of Sassanid Persia, Shapur I in the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. Although there is no proof Shapur I was a Manichaean, he tolerated the spread of Manicheanism and refrained from persecuting it in his empire's boundaries. According to one tradition it was Mani himself who invented the unique version of the Syriac script called Manichaean script, which was used in all of the Manichaean works written within the Persian Empire, whether they were in Syriac or Middle Persian, and also for most of the works written within the Uyghur Empire. The primary language of Babylon (and the administrative and cultural language of the Sassanid Empire) at that time was Eastern Middle Aramaic, which included three main dialects: Judeo-Aramaic (the language of the Talmud), Mandaean Aramaic (the language of the Mandaean religion), and Syriac Aramaic, which was the language of Mani, as well as of the Syriac Christians. "Mani" is a Sanskrit name used in all three Aramaic dialects and therefore common among their speakers.

Manichaeism's views on Jesus are described by historians:

"Jesus in Manichaeism possessed three separate identities: (1) Jesus the Luminous, (2) Jesus the Messiah and (3) Jesus patibilis (the suffering Jesus). (1) As Jesus the Luminous… his primary role was as supreme revealer and guide and it was he who woke Adam from his slumber and revealed to him the divine origins of his soul and its painful captivity by the body and mixture with matter. Jesus the Messiah was a historical being who was the prophet of the Jews and the forerunner of Mani. However, the Manicheans believed he was wholly divine. He never experienced human birth as notions of physical conception and birth filled the Manichaeans with horror and the Christian doctrine of virgin birth was regarded as equally obscene. Since he was the light of the world, where was this light, they asked, when he was in the womb of the Virgin? (2) Jesus the Messiah was truly born at his baptism as it was on that occasion that the Father openly acknowledged his sonship. The suffering, death and resurrection of this Jesus were in appearance only as they had no salvific value but were an exemplum of the suffering and eventual deliverance of the human soul and a prefiguration of Mani's own martyrdom. (3) The pain suffered by the imprisoned Light-Particles in the whole of the visible universe, on the other hand, was real and immanent. This was symbolized by the mystic placing of the Cross whereby the wounds of the passion of our souls are set forth. On this mystical Cross of Light was suspended the Suffering Jesus (Jesus patibilis) who was the life and salvation of Man. This mystica cruxificio was present in every tree, herb, fruit, vegetable and even stones and the soil. This constant and universal suffering of the captive soul is exquisitely expressed in one of the Coptic Manichaean psalms"

Historians also note that Mani declared himself to be an "apostle of Jesus Christ" Manichaean tradition is also noted to have claimed that Mani was the reincarnation of different religious figures from Buddha, Lord Krishna, Zoroaster, and Jesus.

Another source of Mani's scriptures was original Aramaic writings relating to the book of Enoch literature (see the Book of Enoch and the Second Book of Enoch), as well as an otherwise unknown section of the book of Enoch called the "Book of Giants". This book was quoted directly, and expanded on by Mani, becoming one of the original six Syriac writings of the Manichaean Church. Besides brief references by non-Manichaean authors through the centuries, no original sources of "The Book of Giants" (which is actually part six of the "Book of Enoch") were available until the 20th century.

Scattered fragments of both the original Aramaic "Book of Giants" (which were analysed and published by Józef Milik in 1976) and of the Manichaean version of the same name (analyzed and published by W.B. Henning in 1943) were found with the discovery in the twentieth century of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judaean Desert and the Manichaean writings of the Uyghur Manichaean kingdom in Turpan. Henning wrote in his analysis of them:

It is noteworthy that Mani, who was brought up and spent most of his life in a province of the Persian empire, and whose mother belonged to a famous Parthian family, did not make any use of the Iranian mythological tradition. There can no longer be any doubt that the Iranian names of Sām, Narīmān, etc., that appear in the Persian and Sogdian versions of the Book of the Giants, did not figure in the original edition, written by Mani in the Syriac language.

From a careful reading of the Enoch literature and the Book of Giants, alongside the description of the Manichaean myth, it becomes clear that the "Great King of Honor" of this myth (a being that sits as a guard to the world of light at the seventh of ten heavens in the Manichaean myth,) is identical with the King of Honor sitting on the heavenly throne in the Enoch literature. In the Aramaic book of Enoch, in the Qumran writings in general, and in the original Syriac section of Manichaean scriptures quoted by Theodore bar Konai, he is called "malka raba de-ikara" (the great king of honor).

Noting Mani's travels to the Kushan Empire (several religious paintings in Bamiyan are attributed to him) at the beginning of his proselytizing career, Richard Foltz postulates Buddhist influences in Manichaeism:

Buddhist influences were significant in the formation of Mani's religious thought. The transmigration of souls became a Manichaean belief, and the quadripartite structure of the Manichaean community, divided between male and female monks (the "elect") and lay followers (the "hearers") who supported them, appears to be based on that of the Buddhist sangha.

While Manichaeism was spreading, existing religions such as Christianity and Zoroastrianism were gaining social and political influence. Although having fewer adherents, Manichaeism won the support of many high-ranking political figures. With the assistance of the Persian Empire, Mani began missionary expeditions. After failing to win the favour of the next generation of Persian royalty, and incurring the disapproval of the Zoroastrian clergy, Mani is reported to have died in prison awaiting execution by the Persian Emperor Bahram I. The date of his death is estimated at AD 276–277.

Manichaeism presented an elaborate description of the conflict between the spiritual world of light and the material world of darkness. The beings of both the world of darkness and the world of light have names. There are numerous sources for the details of the Manichaean belief. There are two portions of Manichaean scriptures that are probably the closest thing to the original Manichaean writings in their original languages that will ever be available. These are the Syriac-Aramaic quotation by the Nestorian [Assyrian] Christian Theodore bar Konai, in his Syriac "Book of Scholia" ("Ketba de-Skolion", eighth century), and the Middle Persian sections of Mani's Shabuhragan discovered at Turpan (a summary of Mani's teachings prepared for Shapur I). These two sections are probably the original Syriac and Middle Persian written by Mani.

The most important religious observance of the Manichaeans was the Bema Fest, observed annually: The Bema was originally, in the Syriac Christian churches a seat placed in the middle of the nave on which the bishop would preside and from which the Gospel would be read. In the Manichean places of worship, the throne was a five-stepped altar, covered by precious cloths, symbolizing the five classes of the hierarchy. The top of the Bema was always empty, as it was the seat of Mani. The Bema was celebrated at the vernal equinox, was preceded by fasts, and symbolized the passion of Mani, thus it was strictly parallel to the Christian Easter.

While it is often presumed that the Bema seat was empty, there is some evidence from the Coptic Manichaean Bema Psalms, that the Bema seat may have actually contained a copy of Mani's picture book, the Arzhang.

Mani wrote either seven or eight books, which contained the teachings of the religion. Only scattered fragments and translations of the originals remain.

The original six Syriac writings are not preserved, although their Syriac names have been. There are also fragments and quotations from them. A long quotation, preserved by the eighth-century Nestorian Christian author Theodore bar Konai, shows that in the original Syriac Aramaic writings of Mani there was no influence of Iranian or Zoroastrian terms. The terms for the Manichaean deities in the original Syriac writings are in Aramaic. The adaptation of Manichaeism to the Zoroastrian religion appears to have begun in Mani's lifetime however, with his writing of the Middle Persian Shabuhragan, his book dedicated to the King Shapuhr. In it, there are mentions of Zoroastrian deities such as Ohrmazd, Ahriman, and Az. Manichaeism is often presented as a Persian religion, mostly due to the vast number of Middle Persian, Parthian, and Soghdian (as well as Turkish) texts discovered by German researchers near Turpan, in the Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan) province of China, during the early 1900s. However, from the vantage point of its original Syriac descriptions (as quoted by Theodore bar Khonai and outlined below), Manichaeism may be better described as a unique phenomenon of Aramaic Babylonia, occurring in proximity to two other new Aramaic religious phenomena, Talmudic Judaism and Babylonian Mandaeism, which were also appearing in Babylonia in roughly the third century AD.

The original, but now lost, six sacred books of Manichaeism were composed in Syriac Aramaic, and translated into other languages to help spread the religion. As they spread to the east, the Manichaean writings passed through Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Tocharian and ultimately Uyghur and Chinese translations. As they spread to the west, they were translated into Greek, Coptic, and Latin.

Originally written in Syriac

The Evangelion (Syriac: ܐܘܢܓܠܝܘܢ; Greek, Coptic: Ευαγγελιον, meaning roughly "good news"). Also known as the Gospel of Mani. Quotations from the first chapter were brought in Arabic by Ibn al-Nadim, who lived in Baghdad at a time when there were still Manichaeans living there, in his book the "Fihrist" (written in 938), a catalog of all written books known to him.

The Treasure of Life

The Treatise (Coptic: πραγματεία)

Secrets

The Book of Giants: Original fragments were discovered at Qumran (pre-Manichaean) and Turpan.

Epistles: Augustine brings quotations, in Latin, from Mani's Fundamental Epistle in some of his anti-Manichaean works.

Psalms and Prayers. A Coptic Manichaean Psalter, discovered in Egypt in the early 1900s, was edited and published by Charles Allberry from Manichaean manuscripts in the Chester Beatty collection and in the Berlin Academy, 1938-9.

Originally written in Middle Persian

The Shabuhragan, dedicated to Shapur I: Original Middle Persian fragments were discovered at Turpan, quotations were brought in Arabic by al-Biruni.

Other books

The Ardahang, the "Picture Book". In Iranian tradition, this was one of Mani's holy books which became remembered in later Persian history, and was also called Aržang, a Parthian word meaning "Worthy", and was beautified with paintings. Therefore Iranians gave him the title of "The Painter".

The Kephalaia (Κεφαλαια), "Discourses", found in Coptic translation.

On the Origin of His Body, the title of the Cologne Mani-Codex, a Greek translation of an Aramaic book which describes the early life of Mani.

Non-Manichaean works preserved by the Manichaean Church

Some portions of the Book of Enoch literature.

Some literature relating to the apostle Thomas (who by tradition went to India, and was also venerated in Syria), such as portions of the Syriac The Acts of Thomas, and the Psalms of Thomas. The Gospel of Thomas was also attributed to Manichaeans by the early Church Fathers.

The legend of Barlaam and Josaphat passed from an Indian story about the Buddha, through a Manichaean version, before it transformed into the story of a Christian Saint in the west.

The praises heaped on Hillary Clinton and those two congressional hearings yesterday illustrates what has become an article of faith in Washington. Which is that she has been a great secretary of state. She has certainly try shields a record for number of countries visited a 112. She is deeply serious and as the hearings demonstrated she does her homework. Her conduct -- secretary has been free of diplomatic stumbles -- gaffes. She has worked as one senator noted to the point of exhaustion. But effort is one thing achievement another the question is what are the achievements it would Mark Kerr is a great secretary. Are Arabs and Israelis closer to peace today than four years ago. And the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea have been halted. As the celebrated reset -- Russia produced a new cooperative relationship. Is there a major new treaty or doctrine that bears her name. The answer -- all these questions is clearly no it's been argued that foreign policy in his administration has been so tightly controlled by the White House. It has been impossible for the secretary of state to leave much of a mark. Possibly true -- absolved her of blame for many things. But it hardly adds up to a case for her greatness -- thing. Unless of course it's avoiding blame -- heels of that we're certainly in evidence at those hearings yesterday -- But there was that one moment where she was really heated -- Senator Johnson and -- the question in the back and forth -- played again and again on networks across the line. Some people said it was her finest moment in that hearing others said not so much politically and we all often look through the prism of politics here. Politically -- do you think that means for her. Well for the moment it looks pretty good -- officer is leaving office with this very high approval rating people admire her greatly good large majorities do. What she said yesterday when she said come -- to a question about the misleading information was given to the public about the attack in the aftermath of and it stayed out there for awhile when she said. What difference does it make? It was strong it was passionate eventually you know -- is the moment of the hearing. If we find out and we may not that if we do find out in the months and years ahead. That this was a deliberate effort to mislead for political reasons and if she had any part in it or could have done something about it that statement won't look so good anymore.

Stephen Returns from India

I have returned from India. I had a great trip. Photos are up at my face book and videos are up at www.youtube.com/aramaic12.

Amazing! Panetta claims that he notified Obama that the embassy was under attack and that Obama told him to do what needed to be done to secure it. Then he says that Obama didn't ask and he didn't tell him what was happening during the hours that the attack lasted. He lied and said that the closest military aircraft was over six hours away in Djibuiti, Africa-when it was less that two hours away in Italy and blamed the failure of the mission, not on himself, but upon the embassy staff in Libya! Very odd performance-and he gave all the typical inadvertent gestures humans make when lying (not looking directly at questioner, nervous twitching, ect.). Very odd performance-watch it for yourself.

Unfortunately, America no longer has a free press. What we have is a massive propaganda wing of the Democratic Party and the White House. It is sickening-which brings us to the next issue.

Obama claims right to execute Americans, any time, anywhere, as judge, jury and executioner

Killings carried out under the drone program have ballooned under the president's watch. Democrats and Liberals have complained for years about the Bush policy of monitoring American's phones and using "enhanced interrogation" techniques such as water-boarding. But now that Obama claims the right to kill anyone, anywhere, anytime he would like-the silence-and hypocrisy of the left is deafening.

Pope Benedict resigns

Although I am not Catholic, I have respect for Pope Benedict as a Bible scholar. I think he is one of the best popes the Catholic church has ever had. Sadly, his health is frail and he doesn't feel up to the challenge of leading the Roman Catholic Church. I hope that the Church selects another conservative/traditionalist who is willing to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines that have been handed down to us by the Apostles.